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ACT parent company Bira responds to Prime Minister's 'Bobbies on the Beat' plan

11 Apr 2025

Bira has cautiously welcomed the Prime Minister's announcement this week on plans to put 'thousands of Bobbies back on the Beat' with a new neighbourhood policing guarantee.
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ACT parent company Bira warns of 'Atrocious April' as shop price inflation rises

1 Apr 2025

Bira has voiced serious concerns over the latest figures from the BRC-NIQ Shop Price Index for March 2025.
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ACT parent company Bira says Spring Statement fails to address high street crisis

26 Mar 2025

ACT parent company Bira has said the Chancellor's Spring Statement delivered today has failed to address the "perfect storm" of cost pressures facing independent retailers across the UK,... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira outlines key priorities ahead of Spring Budget

25 Mar 2025

ACT parent company Bira has outlined its key priorities ahead of the Chancellor's Spring Budget statement.
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Bristol-based cycling charity Life Cycle now offering Cytech training courses

20 Mar 2025

Cytech, the internationally recognised training and accreditation scheme for bicycle mechanics, have partnered with Bristol-based charity Life Cycle to offer a range of bicycle mechanic... Read more…

High street 'death knell' – indie retailers, including cycle shops, shutting doors ahead of April tax rises

12 Mar 2025

Towns and cities across Britain are already seeing a wave of closures as independent businesses shut their doors ahead of April’s triple tax burden, including those in the cycling retail... Read more…

Research shows UK businesses hiring more as consumer confidence lifts

5 Mar 2025

New research has revealed a recent uptick in UK consumer confidence, leading to increased hiring by businesses, with the retail sector responding positively to signs of economic resilience.
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Independent cycle shop becomes first retailer to stock new local bike brand

28 Feb 2025

Independent cycling retailer and ACT member Velo Fit has become the first to stock a new brand of bikes focused on combining quality and affordability.
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Bira cautiously welcomes new crime and policing bill to tackle retail crime across high street businesses

26 Feb 2025

ACT parent company Bira has cautiously welcomed Labour's Crime and Policing Bill but is calling for urgent action and immediate funding to address the surge in retail crime affecting independent... Read more…

Bira warns of 'troubled times ahead' despite interest rate cut

7 Feb 2025

ACT parent company Bira has warned that retailers across Britain face troubled times ahead despite today's Bank of England interest rate cut to 4.5%, as the Bank halves its growth forecast for... Read more…

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Rishi Sunak rejects calls by businesses for furlough extension despite extended restrictions

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News, Political News

Rsocial distancingishi Sunak has rejected business demands for an extension of the furlough scheme and business rates relief, despite a four-week delay in the easing of Covid-19 restrictions now set for 19 July.

The fourth and final stage of taking England out of lockdown was originally set for June 21, but the rapid spread in cases of the Delta variant has led to a 50 per cent rise in hospitalisations across England week-on-week.

The lockdown extension is set to be reviewed in two weeks and the PM remains "confident" that the delay would not need to be longer than four weeks.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has rejected the call to extend furlough and business rates relief, both of which are set to begin to wind down from the start of next month.

The furlough scheme will wind down from paying 80 per cent of people's wages to 70 per cent from July 1, with support set to be withdrawn altogether by September.

Business rate relief is set to fall from 100 per cent to 66 per cent from July 1, although it will remain in place until March next year.

 

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